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| A great photo of me and Jon celebrating our graduation from the infamous J. W. Sexton High School. Or is it? |
A few weeks ago one of my good friends, Jon "Bacon" Laing was able to visit me in Arizona. Jon and I have been friends since 1979 when his family moved and he started to going to Averill Elementary where I was already attending. We became friends right away and went through grade school, middle school and high school together, where Jon was an all-star pitcher and key member of our nationally ranked baseball team. My friend Kevin and I gave him the nickname Bacon in the 7th grade. How that came about makes about as much sense as a 7th grade nicknaming would, so I won't bore you with that story. But even though Jon went to College in Indiana and we sort of went our separate ways after high school, we always stayed in touch. He's visited me as I've lived all over the country and every time I was back in Michigan I tried to visit him and his wife and son as well. Not having any kids of my own it has been enjoyable watching his son grow up as I attended any number of his football, basketball and baseball games when I lived closed by or was visiting. To think he's not too far off from College is humbling to me, I can only imagine what it feels like for Bacon. So knowing this would be his first trip to Arizona and always excited to have a friend visit, I prepared for a great "reunion" with my fellow J Dubb! I thought it might be interesting to get his take on Scottsdale and Arizona in general so I have turned the blog over to him, with my comments in red, and Jon's additions to my comments in green. Of course it is my blog and I have to make smart ass comments one way or another even when someone else is doing the writing. But you know what they say, better to be a smart ass than a dumb one. So enjoy Bacon's take on AZ and me and a fun and legendary weekend in Scottsdale. Little rascals not included.
In the words of Bacon:
So this trip out west for me to
visit Chris started in the planning period about a year ago. Or more accurately
about three years ago when my employer began looking at different vendors to
replace our antiquated finance software program. Two years later after
implementing and going live with the program we found out the company has an
annual conference and I attended it in Baltimore last October 2014. At the
conference it was announced the 2015 conference would be in Palm Springs, CA.
At some point after the conference last year I mentioned to Chris where it was
gong to be at the following year and without hesitation he said if I was able
to attend he would come and pick me up after the conference and we could then
make a weekend out of it. Talk about a true friend, how many people would
volunteer to drive four hours out of the way, and then four hours back. (It wasn't that hard of a decision, the chance to see a
lifelong friend.....and I made a stop in Vegas the day before) (Chris did not win big in Vegas so unfortunately we could
not party like rock stars in Scottsdale). And Chris was not hesitant to
say this was not a scenic drive. We're talking four hours as the crow flies
straight from Palm Springs on Hwy 10 all the way to Scottsdale, with nothing in
between but a whole lot of sand and scrub-brush with a scattering towns along
the way.
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Chris was also kind enough to
transport my two co-workers to the Palm Springs airport(only because they were not scUM fans) at the end of the
conference so they didn't have to fight for one of the scarce taxis in the area
along with the rest of the conference attendees who were waiting to head out of
town. So once we dropped them off at the airport our adventure was on as we made
our way to the Valley of the Sun. Wait a second....what's this? Rain? In the
desert? As a matter of fact yes, and also in fact it rained every day I was
with Chris in Arizona. I'm not saying that I brought the Michigan weather with
me to remind Chris of his "mother land", but it was extremely
coincidental that after several days in a row of upper 90s to 100 degrees that
suddenly storm and cold fronts came through the valley and dropped the
temperatures into the cooler mid 80s by the last day. Suffice to say although I
was fully prepared for the expected heat, the "cooler" temps made it
easier not having to worry about changing clothes and wringing sweat out of my
shirts a few times a day. Now I'm sure for an extended stay you would get used
to the warmth, but us Michiganders aren't used to 100 degrees in mid-October.
Of course I was hearing weather reports from back home that lows were in the
20s and some places got some snow. Too soon.(Exactly why I moved
and will never move back)
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| Here's a picture from Michigan just last weekend. It looks pretty you say? Well it looks even better from Scottsdale. Enjoy your snow and cold Michiganders |
Before I go any further I have to
mention that a couple of weeks before I left for the trip out west Chris gave
me a mission: Find at least one picture of the two of us together from when we
were younger, like grade school preferably. For background, my parents built a
new house in 1979 which changed where I was going to go for 3rd grade and that
year I started at Averill Elementary in Lansing, MI. where Chris was already
going to school. I can't recall if I actually met Chris on that first day but I
can say that we've been friends ever since. There were some semesters in middle
and high school we had every class together. (We were
both great students, that NEVER caused any problems...) True, prior to
modern communications, there were times we weren't in contact for a period of
time, but it was never for long and it was always easy to catch up like we
never had missed a beat. Now of course we email, text, whatever, several times
a week as most people do with their friends in this modern age of technology.
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| Despite 30+ years of friendship, finding a picture of Jon and I together is like seeing a Unicorn. They don't exist. |
So with that being said you would
think we have numerous pictures of us together at some point in our 36 years
knowing each other. I looked through all the pictures I had, Chris the same, I
also looked through my parent's extensive collection, and Chris had his mother
look through hers. Nothing. Well, mostly nothing. The best I could find was a
picture of us playing in the Gus Macker basketball tournament in Lansing in the
summer during our college years, Chris had his back to the camera and only a
third of my body was on the right edge of the frame.(we may have won the toilet bowl that year) Much like the elusive Loch
Ness Monster and Bigfoot we both were unable to find any conclusive
photographic evidence that we ever knew each other. No matter, as long as we've
known each other we have our memories. Ok, pretty sappy, right? But that brings
me to the first night and morning of visit.
Not that we got emotional, but we
talked a lot. Of course the ride from Palm Springs to Scottsdale was four hours
so we had to talk about something, but just general catch up, sports, etc. you
know, usual guy stuff. That evening we got to talking about other things,
mainly the last several years for Chris and his various moves, reasons for
each, and his divorce. I won't go into the details because it's not my right to
do so (and it's not really that interesting),
some people know and some don't and if Chris wants to talk to anyone about what
he went through he will. Suffice to say we had a good talk. Sometimes I think
people just need to talk to someone. Family and friends can only do so much
from thousands of miles away. Which makes me thankful for the friends he has in
Scottsdale that he sees regularly and has for in-person support. This leads to
Friday morning. On the way to Scottsdale Chris had mentioned that in the
morning we were going to join his regular Friday morning men's prayer group.
This is a group of 7 men from his church who meet every Friday morning for coffee,
discuss a specific topic or reading each week and then just talk about
whatever. Unfortunately there were several of the men missing so if we were
playing basketball instead we would of have had a game of two-on-two. But I did
get to meet Bill and Sammy and found out how fortunate it was for Chris to have
these friends as part of his Arizona life and regular routine.
After the prayer group we headed to
the next adventure Chris planned for us - climbing Camelback Mountain. I know
it sounds daunting, and maybe insane, like who the heck wants to climb a
mountain in the desert, but Chris assured me many people climb it each day. It
has a "groomed" trail to follow, though Chris did say someone has to
be rescued almost every day. But usually because they go off the trail, don't
bring water to stay hydrated, or climb in the middle of the day when it's over
a hundred degrees.(tourists, especially this kind) Thanks to my trusty guide, we had planned to go for the
climb around 7:30 in the morning and thanks to me bringing the Michigan weather
to the Valley of the Sun, when we started the climb it was in the upper 70's to
low 80's. Now when I say several people climb Camelback every day I mean
probably at least a hundred or more, and it wasn't even extremely busy from
what Chris said it could be. And there where all types of people, every age,
gender, families, people running up and down the trail, the natives and
regulars and the newbies like me. The trail is also narrow in some areas and if
you were to put your foot in the wrong spot you could find yourself descending
the mountain a lot faster than you intended. In fact in the narrow areas it's
commonplace to move off the side a bit if someone else is coming the other way
or wants to pass you. This would be a great place for a "singles
event". John Taffer would be proud of the natural "butt funnels"
that are created due to the narrow passages at some points. (If you've never
seen an episode of Bar Rescue on Spike TV you would have no idea what this
means, unless you've been to a bar that has one and felt semi-violated when you
brushed up against someone going on or off the designated gathering area with a
narrow entrance). I won't say that I'm a hero and climbed all the way to the
top of the mountain, but I did get past the first hump and to the Helicopter
Pad which to myself I felt was an accomplishment.(It is a great accomplishment for a first time and it's a great spot to see the valley in all directions) As we got to this point and I
looked up to the incline for the final stage I asked Chris if he would be
disappointed if we didn't go any further and he said not at all, this is where
most people stop and head back down So at least I got to the point of
"most people" at least. I know what I was feeling at that point and
did not want to push it any farther and end up being one of those people who
have to call in the air support to be rescued. Chris wore a Michigan State
shirt on the climb to gauge the reaction of possible fans on the mountain as
the showdown against Michigan loomed the next day. Or as Chris so politely
calls them - scUM. We had several comments of "Go Green!" on the
climb, even a nice conversation with a couple on the Helicopter Pad who were
Iowa fans and wanting MSU to win the game. Surprisingly we only ran into one
couple who were scUM fans, but they were older and I'm sure Chris and I could
have taken them(not coincidentally they were struggling
going up and were turning around to head back down. Defeated. I may have said that to them as well. It was an
omen for the game on Saturday). So I survived my first official mountain
climb without incident. Next time I'll go higher! |
| High atop Camelback Mountain. Nice job Bacon! Go Green! |
What could top a mountain climb?
I'll tell you...one of the most exciting games in the history of the MSU/UM
rivalry, and quite possibly one of the most incredible impossible endings in
the history of football on all levels of play.
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| What's that? The world doesn't revolve around us? That's okay, just more time for you to play Dungeons & Dragons or other nerdly adventures, rather than have to worry about attending a real bowl game. |
As I write this it has been two weeks since the MSU/UM game and if you haven't heard or seen the ending then you're living in a cave (of course that would mean you're also not reading this blog)(blasphemy!!!) or care nothing about any sport. Needless to say it was an unbelievable almost impossible ending to the game and MSU victory that you have to see to believe. I won't bore you with the details of the game leading up to the ending as it's not important other than the game was close the entire way and you play the entire 60 minutes, you cannot take one second off if you expect to win. To start at the beginning, prior to my trip west, Chris had checked all schedules of local football teams, high school, college, and pro and no one was playing at home while I was there. When Chris found out the MSU/UM game was going to be the weekend I was visiting he was excited to be able to watch the game with another MSU fan. Most large cities have specific bars that are designated for fans of specific teams, so we had the option of watching the game at his home, his local bar hangout, or the MSU bar in Phoenix. Not that I'm overly superstitious but I didn't want to disrupt the Mojo that an undefeated MSU had going so we decided to watch the game where he normally did, which was the local sports bar that Chris readily admitted was one of the best places to watch games any ways because of the set up and number of large TVs that are in your field of view regardless of your seats(plus the beer is always 29 degrees and I may or may not know one or two of the waitresses. Let's move on)(I will add that a bleach blonde recommended their own brand of Dirty Blonde ale and it was quite cold and refreshing) I won't go into my MSU game day rituals so that I don't jinx it by talking about it, but Chris knows about it and went along with mine so we were good to go with an MSU victory assured, right?
One of the great things about being
out west is the start times of sporting events and being three hours ahead of
the time in Michigan. So even though the MSU game started at 3:30pm in
Michigan, we had already watched most of the early games at Chris's home and
then got to the sports bar just after noon. Another great thing, since most of
the fans out west follow the western teams like in the PAC-12, the sports bar
wasn't that busy when we arrived because they didn't care that much about a Big
10 game, even though it was a big rivalry game and both teams were ranked, so
we had plenty of options of where we could be sat and we were fortunate to be
placed were Jessie was our waitress. Not important initially, other than she
was nearing the end of her shift and for the majority of the time we were there
we were her only table, so plenty of one-on-one service, but the end of the
game is where you will see Jessie proved her value. Initially when we first
arrived the bar was only about half full, and there was a couple of guys with
Michigan shirts on and then Chris and me, so fairly even for MSU vs UM fans. As
the game progressed and the bar began to fill, there still wasn't a lot of fans
either way, I would guess if something good happened for UM maybe 10 people
cheered, and if something good for MSU there was about half as much cheers. So
while we were outnumbered, there wasn't a significant fan base either way since
we were 2,000 miles away from where the schools are located and the game was
being played. As the game wears on and MSU stays within range we can tell it may
come down to whoever has the ball at the end. Which in the end it did. As MSU
lines up for their potential last offensive play with the ball near mid-field
and a 4th down and 19 yards to go I ask Jessie what kind of play she can come
up with in this situation and to call it in to the MSU coaches. As I recall,
and Chris can correct as needed, Jessie's response was almost verbatim
"I'll think of something good, though I can't tell you, but you will know
when it happens". As Connor Cook throws an incomplete pass I'm thinking
"that wasn't the play I was hoping for". Check please, Jessie! Chris
and I then start figuring out the bill and discussing with MSU's one time out
left their best case scenario is forcing UM to punt with 10-15 seconds left,
maybe get a good return and possibly have the chance for a Hail Mary (in prayer
as much as a final play). MSU does keep UM from getting a first down and ending
the game, but as UM lines up to punt with 10 seconds to go and everyone
resigned to a UM win, and I'm pretty sure I mean EVERYONE, I'm looking at my
phone when all of the sudden Chris yells "They fumbled the snap!"
What the???? I look up in time to see the now immortalized Jalen Watts-Jacksonrunning with the ball, and well, as I said at the beginning, you know the rest.
Needless to say, pandemonium in the bar as now everyone was yelling, us MSU
fans delirious with "Did that just happen?!" and the UM fans also
delirious with "Did that just happen?!" (It's
possible, although I refuse to confirm, that I may have run around
the bar seeking out all said scUM fans after the play, but they had
mysteriously disappeared. Typical, happy to shout it out loud when
winning but shrivel and run away when things go awry. Just another
in the LONG list of reasons why I hate them. IF I had run
around the bar...)(Given our history of not
taking pictures of each while together there is obviously no photo or video
evidence of Chris taking a victory lap around the bar. Or maybe there was but it
has all been deleted now. You’ll never know) I saw Jessie and
pointed at her and said "Now that was a great play you called." In
the end I don't know if it was the Mojo of going to Chris's normal sports bar
to watch the game, my game ritual that Chris participated in with me, or the
genius play calling of Jessie, but whatever it was it will now go down in
history as one of the most incredible game ending plays in the history of all
sports. And being Michigan St over Michigan, and watching the game with a great
friend made it all the sweeter.
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| Am I rubbing in too much? Oh well, there's always next year or the year after that or the year after that...someday. |
This being my first time ever in
California and Arizona I'll give a short review and analysis. It's hot and
barren. Ok, maybe it was just the areas I was in. Palm Springs was definitely
hot, especially for the time of year and not what Midwesterners are used too in
mid-October. Scottsdale was warm, but not as bad as it could have been given
the cooler weather that came in while I was there. My father-in-law lives
in Texas, which we have visited many times, so I've been in that type of
environment before. And the cities are similar, covering lots of land because
of the bedrock and not having the ability to build many tall buildings, so they
are more spread out than midwest or eastern cities. I'm also used to driving by
a lake or river every few miles in Michigan, so not having that in the
landscape is quite a difference. Though there was a lake that Chris used to
live near on his first stint in Scottsdale. I can't recall the name (Lake Marguerite) but based
on his description and advisement to not swim in it I'm thinking it was Lake
Tepid. Could I live in Arizona permanently? I guess anyone could and would
adapt to the environment eventually, as Chris obviously has and loves living in
Scottsdale. (A mild understatement) But for
now I'll take our forests and abundance of lakes in Michigan. That is until
winter comes and the forests look dead and sterile in the snow and the lakes
turn to giant ice cubes. Someone asked me a while ago if I go ice fishing and I
replied that I prefer to take my boat out on water that's melted. I'll visit Chris
again out west, but whenever Barb and I decide that it's time to move it will
be somewhere warmer, just more likely to be to place with permanent and more
abundant unfrozen water nearby.
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| Since it just snowed heavy in Michigan, let me remind you of just a regular day in Scottsdale. You can choose for yourself which you prefer. |
As I said goodbye to Arizona while
Chris took me to the airport I thanked him for his hospitality and, wait,
what?? We again forget to take more pictures of us together, are you kidding
me? Ok, so here we are, photographic proof that we and our friendship exists.
Given the Scottish heritage in my family tree and desire to be near water I
guess that makes me Nessie, The Loch Ness Monster. Which then of course means
Chris is Sasquatch (Hmmm, not sure I like that
nickname)(Hey, I could have gone with a Yeti
for you, just didn’t seem right an abominable snowman in the desert).
Thanks again for picking me up and showing me your town. This is Bacon, signing
off in gray, overcast, raining, 45 degrees Michigan, enjoy your sun in the
valley.
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| Better get in a photo before its another 36 years! Thanks for visiting Bacon! |
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